CHERRIES’ Lloyd Kelly admits it’s “a nice feeling” to be top of the Championship table heading into the international break but it wont be a time to relax, adding: “We will be working just as hard as if we had a fixture coming up.”

The stand-in skipper, along with the rest of the unbeaten squad, will be buoyed by having a three-point lead over West Brom at the summit following the 2-1 win over Sheffield United at the weekend.

The international break means that Scott Parker’s side won’t be back in action until Saturday 16 October, and will be without a full complement in training too as some of the stars head away to represent their country.

Cherries have picked up an impressive 25 points from an available 33 so far, have conceded less than any other side (8) and are winning games in a variety of fashions, grinding out results in dogged battles when needed.

Asked how it feels to be table-toppers for at least the next week and more, Kelly told the club website: “Yeah it is a nice feeling, but at the same time you can’t be complacent.

“Especially in this league, the positions can change fast. So we just need to take each game as it comes and make sure we play at the levels we can, and keep churning out those results.”

Up next for Cherries is a visit to Bristol City’s Ashton Gate, who have somewhat steadied the ship under Nigel Pearson and now sit 9th in the division.

Kelly was discovered in local football by the South-West side, joining the academy as a schoolboy and making his senior debut under former head coach Lee Johnson – before moving to Cherries in a multi-million pound back in 2019.

Ahead of the visit, he added: “Obviously the international boys will go away but the boys that stay will probably be working just as hard as if we had a fixture coming up next week.

“I don’t think we will take the foot of the gas at all, we will train over this international break to be ready for the next fixture.”